Cirrhosis is a slow progressing but irreversible disease that leads to death. To accurately diagnose the degree of liver fibrosis, a liver biopsy is required, and a liver biopsy is an invasive and dangerous test.
Fibroscan is the first non-invasive device used in the diagnosis and monitoring of liver fibrosis. The device consists of a specialized probe, an ultrasound system combined with an elasticity measurement system and a special computer program capable of describing the results of the examination. This is a new examination method, like standard abdominal ultrasound, easy to perform, painless, does not cause bleeding, is much cheaper than a liver biopsy and, most importantly, has no side effects. The stiffer the liver parenchyma (more fibrosis), the faster the elasticity wave velocity, so the Fibroscan index is higher.
The main limitation of the Fibroscan examination is that it cannot be performed on all patients. The device does not give results in obese patients with chest walls thicker than 2.5 cm or patients with ascites in the abdomen.